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Understanding why the UK is facing a major headache with potholes

Can you remember a time when you headed out on a drive somewhere in the UK and didn’t come across a pothole?

The government understands that the problem exists, to the point where they have put plans in place to try and reduce the number of these road defects significantly. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced during the 2018 Budget that local councils will be allocated £420 million during this financial year so that they can attempt to fix potholes in their constituency — this is on top of an existing fund that is made up of close to £300 million.

"£420 million to tackle potholes might seem like throwing big money at a relatively minor issue,” commented money.co.uk’s Editor in Chief Hannah Maundrell following Mr Hammond’s announcement. “But it’s a common problem for many drivers who have to fork out cash because their cars are damaged by poor roads.

“This will be welcome news too for insurance companies who foot a large chunk of the bill.”

Should potholes be treated as more than a minor issue across the UK though? Also, just how far will the funds go to solving the problem? After all, the Asphalt Industry Alliance’s chairman Rick Green pointed out in March following a local authority survey that "more than £8 billion would be needed to carry out a one-time catch up to bring local roads in England up to scratch".

Vindis, a Volkswagen servicing provider and the place to book plans from various other brands to ensure your vehicle always remains in a perfect driving condition, attempts to answer these questions by looking at the scale of the UK’s problem with potholes at the moment…

Where are the hotspots for potholes throughout the UK?

A league table has been created by FillThatHole.org.uk, whereby highway authorities are ranked according to the number of road hazards which have been reported to them. Here’s a look at the top ten places currently in this table, as well as how the stats have changed since the summer of 2017…

Position

Authority

Region

Total reports

Open reports

Fixed reports

Percentage fixed

1

(= to 2017)

Surrey

South East England

8,732

(up 14.04% from 2017)

7,455

(up 15.17% from 2017)

1,240

(up 7.92% from 2017)

14%

(down 1 percentage point from 2017)

2

(= to 2017)

Hampshire

South East England

4,712

(up 14.01% from 2017)

3,759

(up 15.98% from 2017)

906

(up 6.71% from 2017)

19%

(down 2 percentage points from 2017)

3

(= to 2017)

Essex

South East England

4,130

(up 8.57% from 2017)

3,209

(up 10.2% from 2017)

906

(up 3.19% from 2017)

22%

(down 1 percentage point from 2017)

4

(= to 2017)

Hertfordshire

South East England

4,052

(up 13.92% from 2017)

3,423

(up 13.95% from 2017)

604

(up 13.96% from 2017)

15%

(equal to 2017)

5

(up 1 place from 2017)

Lancashire

North West England

3,972

(up 20.33% from 2017)

3,080

(up 23.99% from 2017)

867

(up 9.47% from 2017)

22%

(down 2 percentage points from 2017)

6

(down 1 place from 2017)

Kent

South East England

3,857

(up 10.9% from 2017)

3,472

(up 11.82% from 2017)

376

(up 3.3% from 2017)

10%

(equal to 2017)

7

(= to 2017)

Oxfordshire

South East England

3,663

(up 12.88% from 2017)

2,618

(up 17.66% from 2017)

1,009

(up 2.44% from 2017)

28%

(down 3 percentage points from 2017)

8

(up 1 place from 2017)

Cheshire East

North West England

3,452

(up 15.84% from 2017)

2,556

(up 21.14% from 2017)

813

(up 3.3% from 2017)

24%

(down 3 percentage points from 2017)

9

(down 1 place from 2017)

Glasgow

Scotland

3,203

(up 4.71% from 2017)

2,564

(up 4.91% from 2017)

625

(up 3.99% from 2017)

20%

(equal to 2017)

10

(no data for 2017)

Buckinghamshire

South East England

3,135

(up 13.83% from 2017)

2,741

(up 14.26% from 2017)

382

(up 11.37% from 2017)

12%

(down 1 percentage point from 2017)

It quickly becomes clear from analysing the facts and figures above that a major headache has developed among those tasked with solving the issue with potholes across the UK. We can see from the figures that all of the ten authorities covered have increased the number of potholes that they have fixed, for instance. However, the number of potholes that have been reported has also increased in each authority. This indicates that there are more new potholes appearing than those tasked with repairing them can keep up with.

To put this problem into context, let’s focus on the data recorded for Lancashire, in the North West of England. The number of fixed pothole reports in that area was up 9.47 per cent when compared to the summer of 2017’s figures. While this should be good news, it’s countered by the fact that the total reports in the region increased by 20.33 per cent and the number of open reports was up 23.99 per cent over this same period. Despite their efforts then, Lancashire has actually moved further up FillThatHole.org.uk’s league table!

It’s going to take a considerable effort to rid the entire UK from potholes then. It remains to be seen just how far the £420 million that has been provided from the 2018 Budget will go to solve the crisis on the nation’s road network, but hopefully it’ll be a step in the right direction.